In Another World
by Signusorion
Summary: Irie Shouichi is 25 years old as he watches the world being dominated by the Gesso group. Contains 10051
1. Chapter 1

**I have so much free time on my hands I might as well start another fanfic and keep making myself out to sound indifferent in the author's notes.**

**...but really, I highly enjoy this pairing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or its characters.**

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Irie Shouichi is 25 years old when his little robotics business is just starting to become well-known in his neighborhood, making him think that he should start moving out of his mom's house. He watches as the Gesso group dominates the Japanese economy by monopolizing industry after industry. The government doesn't do much about it since they're under the Gesso group's thumb, and the Japanese public doesn't protest, for everything is affordable, and the Gesso group doesn't seem to be after money.

Still, everywhere he looks, he sees the Gesso logo, and that unnerves him for some reason.

He finds comfort in the fact that the Gesso family hasn't turned its attention to robotics, otherwise his little business would never be profitable enough to let him move out of his mom's house.

Twenty-five years old and he still lives with his mother. What a disgrace. He's realized that he should have been more diligent in his high school and college years. He could have been a renowned researcher with his skills. Instead, he works out of his parents' garage, with the noisy neighborhood kids as his main clients.

At the moment, he's waiting to meet with a real estate agent from Gesso Realty. In the building of steel and glass, the Gesso logo appears everywhere, and he wonders how long it'll be before the group will be able to bring humanity to its knees. Sometimes, he pretends he cares.

"He'll see you now," a secretary tells him, pointing down the hallway at an open door.

Shouichi makes his way down the hallway, already feeling his stomach doing flips and somersaults.

The scent of flowers slowly becomes overpowering as he walks into the room and he stares at the colorful display of flowers decorating the room. In contrast, an albino man sits behind the desk, reading a newspaper. Everything about the man is white, from his skin to his white suit; the man could blend into the blank wall behind him if not for his bright electrifying violet eyes and the strange familiar tattoo under his left eye.

Shouichi tugs at his collar, gulps, and slips into the empty seat in front of the desk. The man, seemingly absorbed in the newspaper in his hands (The name of the newspaper is the first thing Shouichi sees: Gesso news) pays no attention to him.

He coughs to get the man's attention. He regrets it almost immediately when the man looks up and flashes him a bright (Bright, too bright) smile.

"Hello there," the man chirps, neatly folding the newspaper back up. He places it next to an open bag of marshmallows, and Shouichi notices that the desk is riddled with various doodads and toys. There's a solved rubix cube there, a perpetually swinging Newton's cradle over there, and some metallic beads stuck to a cylindrical base. His eyes are drawn to the lava lamp at the corner of the desk, and he wonders for a moment what kind of man he was dealing with here.

The man snaps his fingers in front of Shouichi's face, bringing him back from his thoughts.

"Ah! Oh, uh, sorry, I got distracted for a moment there," the redhead murmurs, his hands subconsciously going to his stomach.

"It's fine, it's fine! My desk is very distracting, no? Anyways, what brings you here, Shouichi?" The man leans forward, hands cradling his head like he was offering it to him on a platter. The thought chills Shouichi.

"H-how do you know my name?" he asks.

"Hn, good question!" The man taps a finger against his own lips, looking thoughtful. "My secretary told me?"

Shouichi narrows his eyes as his stomach ulcers start flaring up. "I-I see." He looks at the name tag on the man's pristine white suit. "B-Byakuran-san?"

"How do you know my name?" the man asks, looking genuinely astonished. Shouichi hesitantly smiles at the man's moment of stupidity.

"Your secretary told me?" he answers, using the man's own words against him. Byakuran continues looking confused, so Shouichi sighs and points to the nametag on the man's chest.

They both laugh, though Shouichi's laugh derives more from his nervousness than actual amusement.

"You got me there, Shou-chan!" Byakuran exclaims, chuckling a bit more.

"Sh-Shou-chan?" He's taken aback by this breach to etiquette. He barely knows the man and he's already calling him by a name that only his family uses.

"Is something wrong?" The albino raises an eyebrow, leaning back in his seat. "Oh! Sorry, I'm much too familiar with people for my own good! Is it alright to call you that?" Shouichi nods once, then remembers what he came for.

"U-um, I'm interested in-"

"Ah, also, I'm new to this whole realty thing. You'll have to guide me through it," Byakuran says in a lilting carefree tone as he holds out a hand for Shouichi to shake.

The man's smile continues to dazzle and Shouichi finds himself shaking the hand and smiling despite himself. He's slightly miffed that the man doesn't seem competent, but it wouldn't do too much harm to waste some more of his time.

After all, he's spent six years trying to be something he could never be. The thought of it adds a melancholic quality to his smile.

He opens his mouth to ask if they've met before, but Byakuran cuts in.

"I'm actually busy right now, Shou-chan! Shall we talk later, let's say..." The man's voice drops an octave as he reaches into his pockets. "...at this address. Is that fine with you?"

Shouichi takes the piece of paper, feeling disorientated. "Wh-what time?" he stutters out.

"You'll find out, Shou-chan!" the man chimes, looking as if he was about ready to do a twirl. "You don't know how overjoyed I am to meet you! We're going to have so much fun-"

"In helping me buy this apartment. Right," Shouichi finishes sardonically. He pulls his hand back, disappointed that he was actually drawn into all the jazz that the other man was spouting. "If we're finished here, I'll be going now."

Byakuran stares up at him with that bright bright smile as Shouichi gets up. As he walks out, he spares a glance behind him.

The pale man's smile has fallen, and nostalgia has settled in his lilac eyes. However, as soon as his eyes meet Shouichi's, his smile comes back and he waves good bye.

Nostalgia must be contagious because Shouichi swears he's met the man before.


	2. Chapter 2

**All these Japanese honorifics.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or its characters.**

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His sister makes fun of him from his bed as he tries on a striped grey suit. It's an old suit from when he graduated from college, but thankfully, he's stopped growing since then. In addition to that, he remembers how to put on a tie.

"You look like a stiff old businessman," his sister jeers as he ties the red strip of fabric around the collar of his shirt.

"Good. I need to look like one for this fancy restaurant," Shouichi replies, not missing a beat. He's done his research on the address on the slip of paper that Byakuran handed to him. It's a restaurant from a chain of restaurants owned by an associate of the Gesso group. Judging from the prices on the menu and the long list of celebrities that have dined there, he'll never live it down if he embarrasses himself.

"Are you going on a date?" The question catches him off-guard and he splutters for an adequate denial.

Too late. "MOM, SHOUICHI'S GOT A GIRLFRIEND!" His sister's shrill voice rattles through the house and has Shouichi covering his ears to prevent them from splitting.

"It's a business meeting," Shouichi says with a sigh, fixing his tie. He flinched earlier from the screaming and as a result, the tie got dragged out.

"I call bull. Your 'business' only gets business from little kids," his sister retorts, twirling a lock of her hair and looking quite smug. The redhead ignores his sister, though her barbed comments do chip away at what little self-confidence he has. However, the conversation distracts him from his confusion over the whole premise of the meeting. What time is he supposed to meet the other man? What would happen if he accidentally misses the meeting? Why such a fancy restaurant?

The questions swirl around his mind in the deafening silence and send a dull ache to his stomach.

He plops down on the bed, hoping that some rest will relieve some of the stomach pain. His sister frowns at him and demands to know when he's going to leave.

He proceeds to kick her out of his room. She's a distraction, but, even after two decades, he has a low tolerance for her nagging and teasing. Being his family member, she knows his weak points all too well. In a sincere voice, she'll say that she only makes fun of him so he can get used to it. And then, with a snide undertone, she'll add that he'll be experiencing a lot of it in his life.

A car horn sounds outside. Shouichi buries his head in his hands with a soft sigh. When he thinks too hard, the reality sets in. He has no idea where he's taking his business, and he has no idea if there will be room for him in the world of respectable adults.

All he knows is that, even now, his fingers itch to play a guitar.

"Shou-chan!" a sickly sweet voice calls from the door. Shouichi quickly drops his hands onto the bed and scrambles to his feet, trying to make up for having been caught with his head in his hands.

Byakuran leans against the doorway with that strange smirk on his pale face. A cursory glance over the man's white vest and black collared shirt tells Shouichi that he made the right choice by deciding to wear a suit. The momentary feeling of relief is gone, and then he's wondering what in the world the man is doing in his home.

"What are you doing here, Byakuran-san?" Shouichi demands.

"I let him in, of course!" his sister appears at Byakuran's side, clinging to the intruder's arm.

"Don't just let in strangers!" Shouichi exclaims, going to the window and looking outside. He has a niggling suspicion about something, and his suspicion is confirmed when he sees a car parked in front of the house.

He's being picked up. By a man. With an expensive car.

"I'm not a stranger. I'm your real estate agent!" Byakuran chimes.

Shouichi turns back to glare at the madman.. His sister isn't hanging onto the man's arm anymore; she's probably minding her own business like she should be.

Yet again, Shouichi lets out a sigh. He brushes past Byakuran and puts on a calm face. "Whatever, let's just go." _And get this over with._

But he doesn't add that last part.

A glance behind him tells him that the eccentric man is trailing after him. The carefree way the man slings his white tux over his shoulder unnerves Shouichi, but fills him with admiration. He wishes he could give off that aura of being secure in his every action, that he knows that every action he makes is right.

Instead, Shouichi ducks his head, keeps his eyes on his dragging feet all the way to the car as Byakuran trails behind him, brimming with self-confidence.

"Do we have to take this car?" He intended for his question to sound practical, but it comes out sounding like a whine. A blue-haired man in a fancier suit than his own holds the door of the car open for him. Shouichi doesn't like the glint of the blue-haired man's eyes.

"Of course! It's far away, after all!" Byakuran answers cheerfully. "You go in first, Shou-chan!"

He does, gladly. People are starting to stop and stare, and his stomach is starting to churn in that familiar painful way.

Byakuran slides smoothly into the seat next to him and gives him a huge grin as the car door slams shut. To the white-haired man, they might as well have been going on a field trip.

"Is Shou-chan angry?" Byakuran inquires, accidentally brushing his shoulder against Shouichi's as he stretches, cat-like, and reclines in his seat. The car starts up and the engine is the quietest he's ever heard.

Shouichi pulls his seatbelt into place, staring blankly at the Gesso logo decorated on it.

"No I'm not angry. Just be more practical next time, Byakuran-san," he says, tearing his gaze off of the disconcerting logo. He stares outside instead, the view of various buildings and people a familiar and calming sight.

"Practical how?" Byakuran asks, his voice taking on that sickly sweet quality yet again.

"If you have common sense, you should know!"

"I guess I don't! Shou-chan should teach me some then."

Shouichi finds himself cracking up a bit. "You're like a kid! Common sense can't be taught." Byakuran simply hums in amusement.

By the time they arrive at the restaurant, Shouichi has his head in his hands again from sheer exasperation. It's tiring dealing with the other man's eccentric, and often immature, mannerisms. However, Shouichi finds that he doesn't mind so much.

It almost makes him forget that they're only supposed to discuss Shouichi's housing problem.

"Ah, we're here! Look, Shou-chan, isn't it such a nice place?" Byakuran asks excitedly as he gestures with wild abandon at the restaurant. There are lights at the foot of the building which send strips of golden light up its walls. It's a very bright place with large windows that give a clear view of the people dining inside. It's a nice sight, but it makes Shouichi's stomach do its acrobatic tricks again. He wrings his hands, wondering just how expensive the food will be.

"W-we don't have to get food, do we? We're just discussing business," Shouichi says, making one last attempt to keep himself from going broke.

The smile Byakuran gives him is more blinding than the restaurant itself, and many times more daunting.

"How naive, Shou-chan!" Byakuran laughs, placing a hand on the redhead's shoulder as if they were old friends. Shouichi swears that the man's eyes have a strange predatory quality to them.

"Did you really think we'd only be discussing business?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Hoo boy, I hope people don't get annoyed by how slow this is going to go.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or its characters.**

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Shouichi soon realizes that what the other man meant by that chilling statement was simply idle chattering.

Byakuran tells him, gushes to him about his hobbies, his favorite foods, what schools he went to, his favorite books, his chauffeur's bad habits, and an endless amount of topics. The man never seems to run out of things to say.

His talkativeness encourages Shouichi to say a few things about himself. He finds out that Byakuran attended the overseas university that he had been contemplating back when he was a kid.

"What a shame," Byakuran says, sipping his glass of wine. "We could have met so much earlier."

Some of the harmless things that Byakuran says gives Shouichi an irrational foreboding feeling. This, for some reason, is one of them.

"Too bad my grades weren't good enough," Shouichi replies in a clipped tone. He stares down at the expensive dishes that they have ordered, wondering if he could have gotten a job that paid well enough for him to be able to afford this every day if he had concentrated on a different dream.

"Were you making trouble for your teachers?" the albino asks in a lilting tone.

Making trouble? No, he had never been much of a troublemaker. He was always the meek student who diligently did all his work, until he had supposedly found his true ambition.

"No, I...I slacked off in school," Shouichi admits with a blush.

"Slacked off? Being lazy doesn't suit you."

A waiter glances over at them; they haven't touched their food yet.

"Not lazy. I just saw no point in it," Shouichi says, wondering why he's telling his life story to this man. Those lavender eyes trained on him seem to pierce through him and know all of his secrets. It's unnerving, but comforting at the same time, as if he can say anything about himself and no judgment will be cast.

He lets out a deep breath and continues, "It's kind of silly, but I uh, I wanted to be a musician. I thought I wouldn't need to study so hard since I thought I was set." And for those few dreaming years, he was. He would bring his guitar to school and strum it in empty staircases, humming to an invisible audience.

Byakuran's usual smile softens, and his eyes look faraway. It's so subtle the albino probably doesn't even know what his face is doing, until he sees that Shouichi is staring at him with his mouth slightly open.

In an instant, the man regains complete control over his facial features. The enigmatic smile loses that warm quality, and his eyes are focused back on Shouichi and not some faraway time and place.

"But it wasn't your true talent, was it?"

No, his true talent is inventing, tinkering with electronics, building upon other people's research. When he was pursuing his dream of becoming a musician, he ignored the urge to build, suppressed it to the back of his mind.

In answer, Shouichi shook his head, a useless gesture seeing as how the albino man gave off a feeling that he just _knew_ already.

"I started my own business when I gave up being a musician." He mutters the next part under his breath. "Good thing the Gesso family isn't into robotics."

"Who knows, they might be waiting for a skilled engineer to come along?" Byakuran muses. Shouichi raises an eyebrow, wondering if the other man is serious

"Is the food not to your liking, gentlemen?" a waiter asks them.

Shouichi's face colors as he realizes that he was too absorbed in the conversation to pay attention to the food in front of him. Now that he thinks about it, he hasn't eaten since this morning.

"I find it fine," says Byakuran, bringing a forkful of food to his mouth. "How about you, Shou-chan?"

Shouichi glances up at the waiter who laughs under his breath at the nickname. "I-I'm fine as well."

After exchanging a few more polite words, the waiter leaves the two of them alone. In the short refrain of silence, Shouichi plots on a way to turn the direction of the conversation to a more impersonal direction. He's here for business and business alone.

But he can't help thinking that if he had gone to that university overseas, Byakuran could have been the best friend he had never had.

"You haven't touched your wine," Byakuran points out between mouthfuls of some sort of fish cooked in marshmallows. From the look of it, Shouichi doesn't want to try any of it.

"I don't exactly drink." Well, more like he can't hold his alcohol.

Before he realizes it, Byakuran has convinced him to drink two cups of the heady wine. By the first, the giddy feeling already makes him forget all about official business. The second puts his thoughts in a haze and has him going along with whatever the other man says.

Everything suddenly gets a whole lot funnier. Shouichi finds himself giggling like a schoolgirl at every joke Byakuran makes. The other people in the restaurant are starting to give him looks, but he ignores the hostile gazes in favor of the other man's.

"You have a lot more fun when you're drunk, right Shou-chan?"

It takes a few seconds to comprehend the question. "I-I do?" he mumbles, his tongue heavy.

"And you eat a lot more too," comments Byakuran. The man looks over the almost empty dishes. "You even ate my fish."

He sounds disappointed, which only makes Shouichi laugh. "I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you," he promises absentmindedly. He takes another sip of the wine, trying to chase away the nausea that's coming over him.

Weren't they supposed to be discussing something? Oh well, it must not have been so important if he didn't remember what it was.

The waiter brings over the bill to them and glances at the redhead. "He's not driving, right?" the waiter asks.

"Oh no, he doesn't even know the way back," Byakuran answers, sounding incredibly joyful. Shouichi suppresses a laugh as the confused waiter walks off.

He takes a look at the bill, and pales. He vaguely remembers looking up the prices of the items on the menu, but the tipsiness from the alcohol has made him forget.

With a small sigh, he takes out his wallet. There goes all the money he's made these past few months.

To his surprise, Byakuran waves his money away. "I'm the one who invited you out! You've never been here before so you must not have known how much everything costs."

He opens his mouth to say that no, he does know because he googled everything to be prepared, but the knowing smirk the albino gives him shuts him up. The other man knows. Shouichi has no idea how, but the other man _knows_.

The realization comes with a bit of deja vu, though he shakes the feeling off. He's pretty sure he's never met Byakuran before the moment he stepped into the man's office.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Byakuran asks playfully as they walk back to the car.

He clambers into the car and blinks blearily up at the other man. He hates how it takes a lot of effort to move his mouth and ask, "What do you mean?"

Byakuran smiles even as he says, "Like I'm something to be scared of." Shouichi finds that he doesn't know the answer, nor does he want to provide one.

Through his drunk haze, the car ride seems like a dream, and he finds himself dozing off. Every so often, Byakuran wakes him up with an offhand remark.

"You really are a bad drinker."

"Let's do this again sometime!"

"My chauffeur's name is Kikyo. He's a serious guy, kind of like you."

To all of this, Shouichi simply nods sleepily. The name sounds familiar, but it might just be him.

"Shou-chan." The albino's tone is suddenly devoid of his usual good humor. It makes Shouichi snap to attention.

"Ye-" He's cut off by hands wrapping around his throat.

"You're looking at me like that again." The hands squeeze and squeeze. It takes all his strength to rasp and send air to his lungs, and even that he chokes on. He looks up desperately at the other man, silently pleading for him to let go, wondering why he's doing this. "Don't look at me like that. You don't know anything yet. You shouldn't be scared."

Byakuran's wide-eyed, crazed face, complete with the man's smile (not so pleasant now) fills his vision. Mustering up what little strength he has left before the blackness at the edges of his sight takes over, Shouichi raises an unsteady hand up towards the man's cheek in a last-ditch attempt to slap him to his senses. "S...t...o...p..."

* * *

Breathing heavily, Shouichi sits up in his bed. He's safe. At home. With no psychopath of a real estate agent choking him to death. He breathes a sigh of relief, and breathing feels so nice, he does it again.

It was simply a dream, but it felt real enough to give him a newfound appreciation of his respiratory system.

His heart won't stop pounding in his chest, as if he had just run a marathon. He gets up and goes over to the window, taking in deep breaths of the cool night air.

It's easy enough to tell himself that he fell asleep in the car and had a bad nightmare.

His hand goes to his throat as he wonders how difficult it'll be to convince himself that the soreness he feels there is simply a figment of his imagination.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for all your encouragements. x)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or its characterrrrrrs.**

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He swears Byakuran is stalking him. He swears it because every once in a while, the man pops up at his house under the guise of official business, and asks him out to eat, still under the guise of official business. And then later at the restaurant, they'll talk about everything but official business. He feels as if he understands the man better, but still, predictability eludes him. After a week of this nonsense, Shouichi realizes that he's made no progress in finding himself a suitable apartment.

He watches the Gesso news which talks about all the ways the company is making things more convenient for the consumers, and he's reminded that he has a time limit. There'll be no chance to move up if he keeps wasting time with Byakuran.

Which is why he puts his foot down in the middle of their dinner date. "Enough of this."

Byakuran stops mid-sentence, his eyes going wide with fear? Surprise? Maybe anticipation? "What do you mean, Shou-chan?" The man's voice takes on a teasing note, which makes Shouichi's stomach bubble from his anger.

"I mean these dates!"

"These aren't dates. They're business meetings," Byakuran says playfully. Shouichi is taken aback by the fact that the man is quoting his own words from the second time he was asked out to eat.

He lets out a frustrated sigh, clenching his hold on the table. He's never had to do this before. "Just...I'm serious. If you're...interested in me ro-romantically, don't take advantage of the fact that you're my real estate agent to take me out on _dates_."

The more he talks, the sillier he sounds even to his own ears. He keeps his eyes down, afraid to look at the other's face just in case he's wrong.

"Just ask me out already. This is wasting my time. I...I just really want to get this over with and be done with it."

He glances up because the silence is getting to him. He regrets it almost immediately because Byakuran's blinding smile is even more unnerving. The man is actually smiling, as though everything is simply a game to him, and he's holding the winning hand.

"Shou-chan." The nickname grates on his nerves, creates reactions in his stomach. He still hasn't gotten used to being called that by Byakuran. "How would you like to live with me?"

He's about to say that he's just met him and that he barely knows him, but that's a lie. Not having anything in common would be a lie too. Not having anything to talk about would definitely be a lie. They've talked plenty over the past week, and he even finds himself wanting to talk more. There's just something about the man that attracts him, but leaves him exasperated.

"It's a rather nice place," Byakuran continues in Shouichi's speechlessness. The albino stirs his drink as he talks. "More than enough room for two people, so there'll be some privacy."

The smile that Byakuran wears tells Shouichi that he doesn't plan to give him any privacy.

"You planned this," Shouichi breathes.

"I've liked you from the moment I first saw you. I'd be an idiot to let you go when you're such a pushover, Shou-chan," Byakuran replies, laughing. "It would have all ended if you had simply said no to my invitations."

It would have all ended so easily? Really? The man seems too persistent to really stop just like that.

"It can all end now." Byakuran raises his glass, swirling the wine around. The man really likes playing with his food too much. Shouichi wonders if he's just that. Simply food to play with for the enigmatic man.

"Just say no."

He's tempted. Really tempted to say no, but if he does, he'll be stepping into the unknown. So instead, he sets his mouth in a determined line and wraps an arm around his protesting stomach.

"Where do you live?"

* * *

Shouichi has always admired how Byakuran masters his own space, as if he's seen every place he's ever been in. None of his movements are awkward, unless it's done purposely for a joke. It's as if every step the man takes is planned.

It's made even more apparent once the man is in his own house. As soon as Byakuran steps in, he tosses his jacket in such a careless movement, Shouichi expects it to land crumpled on the floor. Still, he's not surprised when he sees it hanging over the back of a chair in an almost neat manner.

"How's my swingin' bachelor pad?" Byakuran asks him excitedly.

"Huge..." He can't think of any other word to describe it. The living room is the size of his mom's house. The place is much too big for just one person, and Shouichi wonders again if real estate agents really get paid so much.

He's getting too caught up in the other's tempo, and he takes a moment to think about the situation. He just agreed to go _alone_ to the house of a man who's been manipulating him from the moment they met based on some stupid infatuation.

"I'm an idiot," Shouichi groans, hands going to his temples. Byakuran raises an eyebrow at him. All of his attention is on him. It's scary. He can feel the pain curdling in his gut already.

"What do you me-"

"Why do you even like me?" he interrupts. It's mortifying how he's starting to sound like an angsty schoolgirl, but he can't ignore the differences between Byakuran and himself. Everything Byakuran owns is so impressive compared to his own lack of accomplishments.

"If I could stop, I would." Byakuran gives him a wide smile, so unfitting of his words. The smile doesn't lessen Shouichi's dejection. "But I keep finding things I like!"

Shouichi sighs. "I don't feel the same way," he admits, not wanting to feel as if he's leading the other man on.

"That's fine. You will, in time."

"And how do you know that?"

Byakuran places his hands on the sides of his face, lips curving into a mischievous grin. "I'm just that likeable!"

The silly words make Shouichi snort and shake his head. He's trying to be serious here, and Byakuran just goes and treats it all like a game. It makes him forget where he is.

"I'm spending too much time with you because I swear you're becoming tolerable," Shouichi tells him and Byakuran simply shrugs in answer. No words will faze the man; in fact, it seems as if he enjoys being insulted.

"Tolerable enough to move in with me?" Byakuran asks teasingly. The curve of the man's smile is slightly threatening, and all of Shouichi's instincts scream at him "NONONO", but he wasn't lying when he said that he was spending too much time with the man.

Countless times he's been given that foreboding smile, and eventually, he's grown to ignore the warning behind it.

"Yes," the redhead finally answers with some reluctance, taking off his glasses to clean them. Maybe that scary quality to Byakuran's smile is simply a trick of the light or some smudge on the lenses. The world goes blurry, and when he puts the glasses back on, he's surprised by the other's outstretched hand.

"Wh-what?"

"To seal the agreement. I'm still your real estate agent, after all."

Giving the other man a strange look, Shouichi doesn't bother to point out that contracts are supposed to be used to "seal the agreement". Instead, he takes the albino's hand, feeling like a puppet when his hand is simply dragged up and down in a too-enthusiastic handshake.

"A step closer..." Byakuran mutters under his breath. The man's violet eyes are on Shouichi's face, searching for a reaction. For some reason, Shouichi pretends not to hear the strange words. He's decided to trust the man, and that's why he agreed to move in with him.

Then why does he feel like he just made a deal with the devil?


	5. Chapter 5

**Am I making this up as I go along? Yessss.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or its characters.**

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A sketch of Irie Shouichi's room: drawings of machine parts scattered all over a desk with some littering the floor, the aforementioned parts pushed to one side, tools strewn everywhere, the bed left undone and unoccupied, with a lone inventor kneeling next to it. His head is on the mattress, and despite the uncomfortable position, he's sound asleep with his eyeglasses hanging crookedly on his face. Before the move, he did all his work in the garage of his parent's house. Now, he does all his work in his new and larger room through the long hours of the night.

Byakuran should know. He's watched the closed door of the inventor's room, and the light flooding out from under the door the nights before. It's amusing how dedicated Shouichi is to his craft. It's not so amusing how it distracts him from Byakuran.

"Shou-chan~" he sings, leaning on the doorknob.

The redhead doesn't stir. His fingers don't twitch. Nothing. It reminds Byakuran of another time, far far away.

Should he leave him to sleep?

"You awake?" he calls, trying one more time. He's just imagining it, but there's something eerie about how still Shouichi is.

Just his imagination~ Just his imagination~

He picks his way among the knick-knacks on the floor and settles down next to Shouichi's unmoving form. Placing his head down on the bed, he stares into the redhead's sleeping face because yes, he's just sleeping. From this proximity, he can see the rise and fall of the other's chest, and he can hear the almost inaudible snoring that comes with every inhale.

Everything seems to endear the redhead to him more and more, even his bad points.

"Wake up," Byakuran sing-song whispers, reaching out carefully. Shouichi's eyelids flutter a bit, eyelashes brushing against his fingertips. Those green eyes stare through him dully, as if not really seeing him.

The redhead blinks once, twice, and then some recognition sparks in his eyes.

"Byakuran-san?" he rasps, sitting up straight and rubbing at his eyes. "What are you doing in my room?"

Suddenly, he stops in his tracks. "What are you doing in my room!" he asks again, catapulting himself back.

It's fun watching him. Byakuran can so easily tell what he's thinking.

"You weren't waking up, so I let myself in," he explains.

"You said I'd have privacy!" Shouichi exclaims, groping around for his glasses and putting them on.

"And you believed me?"

Shouichi gives him a withering glare, which could have been intimidating if he didn't have bed hair. In reply, Byakuran smiles brightly back. This makes the inventor give up with a sigh.

"My neck hurts. Did I really fall asleep like that?" Shouichi groans, rubbing the side of his neck.

"Yes you did," Byakuran answers, getting to his feet. "Breakfast is on the table, so get ready quickly!" He's like some sort of housewife caring for her nocturnal teenage child. Of course, most housewives aren't as manipulative as he is.

He glances back once he reaches the doorway and he sees Shouichi looking over his most recent plans. Really, the redhead was too much of a workaholic, but he didn't hate that about him. He could have woken him up with a kiss, and he could have gotten away with it as well.

However, Shouichi is no sleeping beauty, and he himself is no fairytale prince.

The redhead comes stumbling out of his room looking more presentable than before. He plops himself down at the table, and mechanically eats what Byakuran has cooked. The first bite has him spluttering in shock. It's no surprise, seeing as how Byakuran purposely put in an obscene amount of chili powder.

The albino watches as Shouichi gulps down a cup of water before sending him a glare from across the table. "Oops, I guess I made it too spicy."

"You did it on purpose!" Shouichi manages to get out before going into a coughing fit.

"Need more water?" Byakuran asks, walking to the sink.

"Yes please."

It's become a strange past time of his to purposely mess up cooking breakfast when the redhead oversleeps, like putting in salt instead of sugar into his coffee. Little things to wake him up fully.

He hands him the water, though he has to resist dumping it on him. The impulses to mess with Shouichi are funny, but annoying to stave off. He has to remind himself to do it in moderation or the other man will be scared off.

Shouichi mutters a thank you, and Byakuran returns to his own seat.

"Do you really have to watch me while I eat?" Shouichi scrutinizes him, looking suspicious.

"What can I say? I like seeing my best friend enjoying my cooking." It's half-true. He doesn't want to let the man out of his sight, not now after he's finally met him.

"Since when did I become your best friend?" Though the redhead tries to sound scornful, Byakuran sees the smile he tries to hide by drinking more water. It's endearing, oh so endearing.

"Since forever," Byakuran replies, laughing.

But really, their relationship is not as cute as simply an easy friendship. What kind of man would do what he's about to do to his "best friend"?

Because he's not the housewife, the fairytale prince, or the teasing best friend.

He's the villain.

* * *

**It's kind of short, but I hope I made him sound unstable enough?**


End file.
